Meeting Place
by Zuhri
Summary: He always saw her at that table for two, by the window, looking outside and a drink in front of her. OC
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own anything K-on related as those belonged to Kakifly. The lyrics are from Marvin Gaye's Let's Get it on.

Meeting Place

He always saw her at that table for two, by the window, looking outside and a drink in front of her. She always stares outside, an unreadable expression adorned her and the cup of tea always left un-drink. She usually takes a few sips from the cup, but then she just left it there, bare. And by the time she left about an hour later, the tea will remain untouched until a waiter come and clean the table.

He didn't know when it started but when he notices it, he has always been staring at her, consciously or not. She had a certain aura around her that made her stood out in front of the crowd, and he guess he's not the only one notices it. There are certain other customers, females and males seemed to be taking interest in her as well.

"That girl, surprisingly, she's an attraction to this shop," Percy, the café owner often makes jokes about it. The café Seaweed Blues was not particularly large. It was moderate but what pulled the customers was the ambience. The café feels very welcoming, the shade not too bright, but neither dark, the slow music and the people who worked here. It feels very, homey he figured.

"Maybe you should talk to her," Percy talked to him from the other side of the counter.

"Me? Huh, no way. I don't think so." He didn't think he could talk to her. She was something else and he, at best, normal.

"Well, you've been staring at her a lot. You should just go. Honestly, I'm tired of watching."

"Gah, who asked you to." He drinks his lemon tea.

"Well, so much for trying, I guess."

The girl at the table for two, by the window was breathtakingly gorgeous. Long black hair adorned her full frame, beautiful long legs, great figure, she was absolutely amazing. She always carried that sort of guitar bag around; he assumed she's a guitarist or bassist. Whenever she's alone, she will silently stare outside the window or took out her usually blue notebook and scribble something down. And he thought her expression full of focus was kind of, cute.

"She's a bassist, you know? At some all-girl-school around this area. Nico went to their gig once. They were great, he said."

"Aha," he didn't hear anything Percy said, just the girl at the table for two, by the window.

On days when she brought her friends, they took tables and chairs there and there were five of them. They talk a lot, about various things like training camp, the next gig, pink marshmallow, nightmare wedding and such. They were a cheerful, happy bunch. But, the girl always had interesting expressions when they're around. Happy faces, understanding faces, angry faces, crying faces, all kinds of faces unlike her doll-like reverie usually and that made her looked even prettier.

"Dude, you should definitely talk to her, like, right now." Sato Riku, his best friend and lead guitarist of the band tell him one day. His nickname was 'Strike'. Kind of an asshole, but he never really knows why he hangs out with this one.

"Riku, get real. Not gonna happen." He remembered saying that to him.

"Dude, either you hit that, get a homerun or you'll spend your whole life a virgin."

Remember what he said, an asshole?

"Riku, I'm telling you, it's not happening."

"Alright bro, whatever floats your boat. I guess you'll still be seeing her a lot but after next year, you'll see her somewhere with a round belly and a guy who just couldn't let go off his hands around her."

"Riku, you're an asshole."

"I try."

The statement haunts him for nights.

The next time he saw her man-less, stomach un-round he let out a sigh of great relief. Seriously, this business of talking to her is seriously taking a toll at his health.

"Kou, talk to her." Percy just said one day.

He groaned, "Percy, don't"

"Well, it's getting a little annoying."

"No, it's not."

"You're not the one watching."

"Well, sucks to be you."

Percy let out a sigh, "Kou, just get your balls up, walk to her, tell her all those embarrassing things about love, get her to listen, ask her to bear your babies, anything man. Seriously, this is getting stupid."

"Who said anything about love?!!"

"Not the point!"

"Okay, assume that I will talk to her, what will I talk about?"

"I don't know," Percy took another glass and clean it, "You're in a band too, right? Talk to her about that; music, bands, the whole shit."

Kou let out another sigh, "Fine, get me her order, I'll give it to her."

But later, he did not move even an inch towards her.

"Shit," he later confessed. "I'm a pathetic, loser, dirt, thrash of the planet, got cold feet when I finally had the guts to talk to her, I'm so useless!"

Riku let out an empathetic face, which is insulting. "I'm sorry, but let me get this straight. So, what you said was you chicken out even before making the first move. I have a question, since when did you trade your penis for vagina?"

Did he mention how much of an asshole he is?

"Riku, shit man! Can't you be less of an asshole for like one day?"

"And deny myself the pleasure of mutilating you?"

"Riku!"

"What, it's fun."

"God, damn it!" he nearly pluck his hairs out.

"Kou," Riku started, "Frankly, you're nothing. Beside that golden voice of yours being the only reason we still keep you in this band, you're practically shit."

"Oh, gee, thanks!"

"But," Riku continued, "Through whatever great power that's been holding this universe this whole time, we get to think that there's something special about you. You're thrash, dirt of the planet, true. But, there's a reason why you're the vocalist of the band."

He could barely believe it; Riku actually had something nice to say.

"What I'm trying to say is that you're pathetic. But still, you're somebody. Not just any normal joe. You're something."

And that answers every reason why he still hangs out with Riku. He's the biggest asshole on the planet. But, beyond that, he's deathly honest. He will never hide his true feelings and that is reason enough. He's definitely a good friend.

"Still, a dirt's a dirt."

An asshole, but still a friend.

He decided to try again later.

"No can do, brother. We got a heavy gig tonight."

Oh, shit.

"It can wait till later, can it?" he was almost begging.

"Yeah, and miss practice and end up making shits out of all of us. That'll be nice."

"F-damn it!" this really suck he thought. Seriously, heavily, utterly suck.

"Dude, don't worry. Hot girls have their own PLC, Product Life Cycle. It is launched; it grows, and at some point, may die. It won't be long before someone else claims her. Well, too bad. I guess you miss your chance."

"Well, screw you!"

'Shout' was one of the craziest joint in town. It was so hot that many of the bands who performed there went major. Names like Ray Gunz, Fate, and Fakers started out small at 'Shout' but then got themselves a major deal and went rocking all around the globe. And 'Shout' was the place they're suppose to play tonight.

"So, whatever happens, I will not allow anyone or anything to fuck up this one-in-a-million chance of awesomeness." Riku did made that clear last week. He never thought it's going to ruin his life.

"Look, Kou. I know you're a bit restless. But considering the fact that you never really talked to her this few weeks, what's one more day, right?"

"Riku, I can't stress this enough, you're an asshole."

He did not enter Seaweed Blues that day.

When he realized it, they were already back stage, preparing their instruments.

As he helped Fauzul carry his keyboard, Akira, their rhythm guitarist called him as he peered through the red curtain of the backstage. Kou, curious as to what, came to him and both of them continue to look through the draft. From there he could clearly make out the whole stage and the audience. The world beyond the red curtain was simply amazing. The hum of the guitar, the beat of the drums, the crisp of the bass, the cheer of the audience, it was absolutely breathtaking. Surprisingly, he felt a cold excitement running through his back.

But then, what startled him was the bassist of the group.

"It's HER!" he almost shouted.

The girl at the table for two, by the window, was playing the bass. And she was awesome. The song was quite high paced but she managed to pick up the beat and played complicated pattern on her Fender Jazz Bass and the beat was catchy, he found himself shaking his hip to the song. Her features glow and her face was fill with passion, none that he ever notice and she was as alive as he thought she could be.

"The bass was good," Akira noted.

"Yeah, I'm surprised." He confessed.

Her bass was heavy, fluent and confident. The beat never falter and the hum never stumble.

"Feel challenged?"

He almost laughed at that one, "We will rock. Between me, you, and Tsukiko, we can rock any corners of the world."

And he was feeling more excited as he did before. Surprisingly, suddenly everything made sense. The first time he notice her, she was carrying her bass to the café. He didn't realize it back then but when he first saw her, he knows that there's just something about her. Maybe it was the attraction of two people with the same interest. Or maybe, it's the spark of rivalry, but the moment he concludes that she too worked with music, he know that he was attracted. Basses, guitars, vocals be damned. She shown him her stuff, he can't wait to show her his.

As the cries of encore slowly fade out and her band bowed and ready to exit her stage, her eyes finally caught his. He didn't notice anything at first but then she smile. Not just any smile but _the _smile. He did not know what kind of smile she made. Is it acknowledgement, politeness, or condescending? But, he didn't care because his gut tells him that the smile means, "Your turn."

"And now, it is my great, great pleasure to welcome you, Crazy Death Machines!!!" as the MC announce their band name he quickly leap through. The six of them bowed to the crowd and as he grabs the microphone, he could feel her stare. He smiled in spite of himself.

By then, as Riku's funky guitar's rising and the instruments blend in, and the beat rise up through his throat, he sings;

_I've been really trying baby,_

_Try to hold on to this feeling for so long,_

_And if you feel, like I feel, sugar,_

_Well, come on! Whoah, c'mon! Ooh…_

_Let's get it on._

_Oh, let's get it on, _

_Let's love, sugar!_

_Let's get it on, sugar,_

_Let's get it on._

_We are all sensitive people,_

_With so much to give,_

He never really feels at peace while he sang, but then, standing at that place, he didn't know he could sing that well. He felt proud, happy and at most, satisfied. It is the most satisfying feeling he ever had. And by the end of the song, the crowds went crazy and he just laughs along as they bow and went back stage.

"Nnnnice one, Kou!" Isaac, their drummer jab his shoulder.

"Awesome performance, from a thrash. Keep it up and maybe you'll look a bit closer to human." Riku's still an asshole.

"Great job, Kou!" Tsukiko pat his shoulder and join Riku on his walk.

Akira was laughing as he high five-ed him. "Awesome, I know we can rock!"

He just laughs with him.

As Akira made his way to the toilet he felt a tap at his shoulder. And when he turns around, what greet him were _her_ eyes. Acting by instinct he quickly jumped backward, his hand move in random tangent, in turn making a fool of himself.

"Uh-s-sorry. Did I startle you?" she asked.

Damn it, she had a clear voice!

"Uh-no. Sorry." He bowed apologetically. The girl just smiled.

"Nice gig, by the way." She said.

He could only smile back, "Yours too. Never thought you'd be a killer bassist."

"Killer practice. The day I got my first bass, I never let it down for weeks. Still feeling the blisters and all."

And he just laughed to her statement. At this point, he thought to himself that he never realized how pleasant it was to talk to her. It was surprisingly comforting. True, he still feels a slight thump of his heart and slightly hot over his ears but that must be due to the live just now. And now that she's a few feet closer, he could make out how beautiful she really is. It was a bit overwhelming but at some point, welcoming.

"By the way, you sing really well."

"Ah, really?" he could feel his cheek getting red.

"Yes. You have a nice voice." She said. "I could only hope to sing that way."

"Well, I'm sure you could."

"No," she was twiddling with her fingers as she said it, "I feel nervous about it, actually."

"Really?"

She just nodded.

"Wow. But, at the stage just now you were like burning, flames ablaze and all that. You were really confident with the bass!"

"Well, the bass is different. It's… quiet. And it doesn't stand out that much. But, to be the vocalist, it's a bit embarrassing." She was blushing a pretty red as she looked down and he felt mighty awkward. Here's a girl, a beautiful girl confessing something to him and he didn't even know what to do.

"Well, I'm sure you could work it out." He choked.

"Huh?"

"I mean," he cleared his throat, "You could, y'know, pretend that you're playing the bass while singing. Singing while playing the bass. You could pretend that you're just playing the bass and, well-"

He thought he heard laughing. As he looks up to her, she was indeed laughing. And it was a pretty laugh indeed, clear bells and all.

"H-how, how's that suppose to make sense." She asked as her mirth of laughter dies.

"Well, it wasn't supposed to."

She hit his arm.

And he felt great.

She slowly took a deep breath and let it all out. She calmed herself. "So, I suppose I'll be seeing you?"

"Well, assuming that you'll just keep your iron fist in silent. That hurt you know?"

She raised a fist, he back out in defense, and she just smiled. "I guess I'll see you at our meeting place then."

Meeting place? Wait, could she mean-

He never really had the chance to ask her. She just bowed, waved her hand, and she joined her friends. And his head was filled with questions unanswered. But, he just waved it aside. He supposed he should just ask her then, when they meet at the meeting place again.

Mio turned around to see the boy scratch his head and just turned away. Deep inside, she felt just a little relief that she finally talked to him.

When she first enter the café few weeks ago, and as she sit at the table for two, she was startled when she heard a loud bang as the door were opened. The owner, Percy cursed and a boy, about as old as she is, with unruly dark brown hair just marched in proudly like he just won the war. The boy, as she noticed would always sit by the counter and ordered a glass of Iced Lemon Tea and he would talk to the owner about lots of things. He was confident, he was rough, but he felt kind, she thought.

It was one day when Ritsu brought the girls here when she specifically asked her not to.

"But, we all miss you!!!" Ritsu made her puppy eyes and it never work but when Yui did it, she was such a sucker. And before she knew it, they brought Azusa and Mugi with them.

"Eh, but I thought you missed them too." Yui always had that innocence about her that just melt her anger away. And she couldn't bang her head on the table enough to not fall for such a trick but Yui was completely honest and by the end of the day, she gave in.

"It's like we're planning a wedding!" she said all of a sudden and Azusa could just laugh nervously.

"So, Mio. What have been doing here lately?" Ritsu just had that certain voice that just betrayed all her intention.

"Nothing, just-"

"I KNOW IT!!!" she just suddenly leaps off her chair, "You're meeting a boy here, aren't you?!!"

"RITSSU!!! CUT IT OUT!!!"

"So, tell me, tell me. I'm your best friend, right? Who? Who? Is it that man in red? Is it the owner? Ooh, he's sexy! Oh how about the boy with the blonde hair? OHH!! It's that boy by the counter, right?!!!"

She slammed Ritsu's head down with her bag.

About two minutes later, the table was finally calm.

"Tell me! Mio!!! Tell me, tell me, tell me!!!" she was hugging her.

Really Ritsu, as much as she loves her, she's afraid she's done nothing here. The café was in the way of her house and she just felt lonely coming home that early. It's just that.

"Peh, what a boring story. I thought you had a certain scandal here that you want no one to find out about."

"Oi,"

"I know, how about Nightmare Wedding?!!" Yui said out loud suddenly.

"For the last time, Sempai, we're not planning a wedding!!!" Azusa was nearly in tears.

Mio just sighed. Now that she thinks about it, she really did miss them. In Yui's airheaded behavior, Azusa's constant demand of something normal, Mugi's motherly knowing smile, Ritsu's constant pleasant pestering, she really feels at home here.

But then, as she looked at the window beside her, she couldn't help but wonder. It was seriously strange but she couldn't help the slight tugging of her heartstrings and the blossoming smile on her lips. It was seriously strange but she couldn't help but wonder how long has it been since she first started looking at the gentle reflection of his back on that window.

* * *

Author's Note: I never have any intention of writing this story. I just got distracted and before I knew it, I was writing it. It's a pity to just let it lay to waste so I just edit it and modify it as appropriate and there you are. Thanks for reading this story and I sincerely hope that you've enjoyed it. Thank you and take care.


	2. Chapter 2

Rainy Walk

Standard disclaimer applied

Lately, she's been thinking a lot. Not the usual lot, like how Ritsu manages the club without hassle even if she herself is unmanageable, how Yui produced wonderful songs as of late and like how prepared they are for their next live. Rather, it was a bit more petty stuff like how Ritsu now walk more like a girl. Ritsu, since she knew her had always a bit of a boyish walk. She swaggers, ungracefully, unladylike and without care. Despite that, she though Ritsu's walk was very Ritsu and it suited her perfectly.

But now, she had this slight movement from her hips, the way she walks. It's almost like she's floating. She never thought she would think about it like this but Ritsu has a beautiful walk.

When she went and asked Ritsu about it, Ritsu suddenly jumped, cover her body with her hands and started screaming, "PERVERT, BALDY, MOLESTER, GET AWAY FROM ME!"

It took a right hook punch to quiet her that time.

She's been thinking a lot lately. It was one evening when she entered the club room, she saw Azusa with her guitar, practicing. Azusa has always been an obedient and diligent member of the group and out of all of them, the most serious. However, at that time, her focus was precise, her notes dangerous and her play was marvelous. She practiced hard for quite a while and when she noticed her, Azusa put down her guitar and greeted her.

"Good afternoon, senpai."

Mio could only smile at that. Azusa picks up her guitar and proceeds to practice again. Mio remembered telling her that she did well, and Azusa gave her a bashful smile. When Mio asked if there's any reason for her to practice so hard, the younger girl's face suddenly turned cold. Mio had known her for quite a while she had never seen her looking so fierce and hostile. She may be imagining it but at that time, she thought Azusa's eyes were burning red, her nostrils flared and her eyes glowed blood.

"Senpai," she suddenly said and Mio thought she had never heard something sounded so cold.

"Bullies only answer to power, right?"

Mio gulped and just nodded.

Azusa suddenly laughed, a dark creepy laugh, "If that's the case then I shall have more **POWER!**"

It was then when she suddenly stands, screaming her lungs out and started riffing and plucking and strumming the guitar like mad. She knows that Azusa was a great guitarist; she didn't know that Azusa could be the next Sawa-chan sensei. And she thought at that time, Azusa has definitely surpassed sensei. A tiny part of her thought that the statement was very unsuited for a petite girl like Azusa.

Mugi has been dreaming a lot lately. She didn't know how to say it but recently she often found Mugi staring aimlessly. There's a dreamy look in her eyes and a pretty blush on her cheek. She was always smiling when she did that and Mio thought that probably Mugi had something happy happened to her.

Yui on the other hand has been writing very good lyrics lately. When she first started, Yui often write nonsensical stuff like the pink of her pencil case, the turtle who tried to fly and Hot Curry, Sweet Curry. It was one of those days when Mio saw Yui playing the guitar by herself. She started strumming and plucking. It started nonsense but then, a rhythm was formed and she started singing. It was unlike anything she had ever written. It took Mio quite a while to realize that it was a love song. Yui's soft voice, the consistent guitar strum and the gentle lyric of it all made such a simple sound into a most honest music. The song was beautiful.

As Yui finish her last lyric and Mio entered the room, Yui wave her hand. Mio told her that it was a beautiful song.

Yui just smile in return and resume playing Gitah.

"You know what, Mio-chan? I think love is amazing!"

Mio turn and ask her why she thought that.

Yui just shrugged. "I've been watching a lot of love story lately and I think that they're amazing. It's such an honest thing you know?"

Yui doesn't know how to explain it. She just continues playing her guitar and sings her gentle song.

Mio has been thinking a lot lately. It was not the usual lot; rather it was little petty things. It took her quite a while to finally understand that the reason she's been thinking a lot was that her friends has began to move on, she was at the same spot she stand since the beginning of the club.

As she took her bass bag and left the club room, she wondered how much longer it will be until all of this will end. After all, this is just another fleeting summer's dream. However, the thought of it ending left a blacker hole than she thought possible.

It was one of those days when she saw him outside of the café'. It was near the train station where people gather. There were two of them, him and his friend. From the distance she could make out they were doing a sort of street live. He was singing and his friend, the younger boy with dark hair, amber eyes and pale skin was playing the guitar, strumming to and plucking to the tune. He mentioned sometime ago that the boy's name is Akira Fujii. They make such a good combo she pondered and she was not the only one thinking that.

All around her, people started to gather, little by little. And just like them, she too was attracted to his golden voice and the deft guitar playing and by the time he finishes his song and the boy his last strum, she too was one of them who clapped and cheered.

They were such a crowd gatherer, all great and somehow somewhere, there's a little sense of jealousy and envy towards them. But rather than heart breaking, it was pleasant. There was something special about the boy and that made her want to try harder.

By the time they were finished, people flock among them, some paying some notes to the box in front of them, some went to shake their hands and some seemed to purchase tickets from them.

"Remember!" he shouted, "Show's on Friday at that new live house. You can purchase the ticket from us or the place or any other music shop around the area!"

There's a look of fatigue in his eyes and she wondered how he could look that happy and satisfied. But what bothers her was the fact that even when she was here, watching him, she felt like smiling. There was something refreshing about him.

It took him quite a while to notice her and when he did, he just shouted, "Akiyama!"

She just laughs in response, "Just do your job, Ichinose!"

He holds up a hand, asking her to wait as he handed the many tickets to purchasers. She just gave him a smile and proceeds to sit at the nearby bench.

It's been about two week since that show in 'Shout'. When she arrived at the café the next day, he just approaches her and suddenly they just click. It was about an hour later and two cups of tea when suddenly they were screaming at each other. He like this kind of music and she, that. It was a funny conversation she thought and it was a bit regular for her to be talking to him on daily basis. The last time she saw him, he approached her with this intense look and out of the blue and just said, "Tell me you love Bruce Springsteen." Maybe that's why he was doing a cover of 'Fire' just now.

It was a bit dark today. The temperature felt cold and the winds were blowing a bit harder than usual. This area of the station was quite popular with this kind of activities. Especially in the night, once in a month, many bands would come together and randomly presents their songs. Because of that, many referred the area as 'The Golden Live Gate'. And, it was one of her secret dreams to have enough courage to perform here.

There was something cold touched her cheeks and she nearly screamed. When she turned, he was standing there, with a can of lemon tea close to her face; her favorite brand.

"Thank you," she said as she took it. The surface of tin felt cold to her fingertips.

He comfortably sits beside her and opened his can of tea. He took a few gulps from it and let out a long breath. And once again, she could only smile at that.

"Kou!" the pale boy called him as he runs towards them.

When he reached closer there was a confused look on him as he noticed her. "Aren't you that bassist girl from that band- wait what's it called again?"

"Houkago Tea Time" she supplied him.

The younger boy snapped him finger, "Ah! You're the crazy bassist who played as awesome as Tsukiko that night at Shout!"

She could only blush at that statement, "Ah, Thank you"

"Wait, since when did you guys were all buddy-buddy?"

"Dude, get lost!" Kou suddenly shouts.

"No, seriously. I thought Riku said you were like pathetically in an unrequited affection with-"

"Just GO!" Kou just kicked him away and the boy just laughs.

"Seriously dude, since when did you associate yourself with a great bassist like her?"

Mio just smiled then. "You're a great guitarist yourself."

"Nah," Akira dismissed it. "There's this girl I know who played better than me. But that's just cheating. No one should be that cute and play the guitar like friggin Jimmy Paige! Someone should just sue her or something. I'm telling you, I think she must've used black magic or sold her soul to the devil herself. She-"

"THANKS Akira!" Kou just cuts in.

"No dude, I'm telling you, it's-"

"GET LOST, MAN!" Kou kicked him again. The action itself was silly but they look like they're having fun.

"Ah, whatever. I'll see you then." The boy gave her a quick bow, adjusts his beanie hat and just ran to the station.

"Sorry about that," Kou said as she saw Akira climbing the station stairs, "He still bitter that a girl could play better than him."

"Yeah, I know how you mean."

Her mind ponders guiltily to Azusa.

"It was a bit gloomy today," he remarked.

"Kinda." She replied. "Nice show by the way."

It was then when he let out that smile, the gesture between proud and embarrassed. "Ah, thank you."

He took another sip from his can.

"Do you always do this, street live I mean."

He let out a small laugh, "It's been a while actually. Back in the day, me, Akira and Tsukiko always just find a spot somewhere and just- go nuts. It's hard recently. Tsukiko's in college now. She barely had the time."

"Must be fun,"

"It was," he said. There was a certain glow in his eyes. "We used to do that for fun and back then we just laugh and laugh and laugh. Kinda suck we can't do it now."

She saw that look before. Ritsu always had that look when she talked about The Who, Sex Pistols or Drums. He must have love just singing. It made her wonder just how much passion she had for music. In all honesty, she never thought her band could go this far. She knew they worked hard for this to happen but will the band last after all this. The four of them will leave school and go for further studies. Will dreams of Budokan just die as well? If that bound to happen, is it vain for them to just keep going?

It was then when she felt a drop of water on her hand. When she looked up, droplets of water began to fall. It was starting to rain. As she quickly stood up and takes her bag, he took his and pulled her arm and guides her to the nearest shade. Under the sudden heavy rain, they ran towards the close bus stop.

Under the small roof she took her handkerchief and just wiped some of the rain of her. The boy in question just ran his hands through his hair and just shakes the droplets off. It looked funny and barbaric and somehow, she could only smile at that.

That's strange, she suddenly thought. She's been smiling quite a lot recently.

When he was finally done with the display he just laughs, "Look at that."

It was raining heavily. From under the bus stop, she could barely make out the surrounding station and under the bus stop she felt as if they were truly separated from the world.

The boy sits and she followed suit. They watched the rain.

"It's been a while since it rained this hard," she said.

"Yeah," he nodded, "It's getting colder now."

She noticed that too.

It was pretty dark; most of the cars had their lights on. The mist, the cold and the water, all mixed up and under that one roof, she thought to herself that the world beyond seemed like a wonderland.

She stands up; suddenly she had a crazy notion.

"Akiyama?" the boy noticed.

"I suddenly have this crazy notion," she said, her eyes did not move from the rain.

The boy looks at her, looked at the rain and looked at her again, "Akiyama, don't."

She had to laugh, "Oh, come on! When was the last time you did it?"

"When I was younger and dumber and honestly, dude, it's not the best decision." He always had an interesting way of talking, she thought. It was nice.

Mio Akiyama sits again, laughing.

The boy looked at her when suddenly; she hopped back up and run toward the rain.

"AKIYAMA, WHAT THE HELL?" He shouted but the girl did not listen.

The boy chased her into the water and the rain falls heavily, against his ears, his cheeks, his shoulders and the cold water envelops him.

She just laughs and sings and dances. She twists and turns and the rain falls down on her. She was wet and cold and she did not care and the boy thought at that time the same thought he had all these time. Her hair close to her face and her clothes enwraps her form like a second skin.

"Isn't this fun?" she suddenly said.

The boy makes a face, "I'm freezing, I have an extra class tomorrow, I will have a high chance of catching a cold and this," there was a pause for dramatic response, "is my last school uniform!"

Mio smiled, "Has anyone ever told you that you think too much?"

"I'm being sensible here. Honestly Akiyama, this is dumb."

She laughs again and just stares upwards. The sky was dark and the rain was far from letting out. She felt a slight shiver from her shoulder and a part of her starts questioning what on earth was she thinking.

She turned to him. The boy had both his hands in the pocket of his hoodie, his form hunched a little. As she moved closer to him, she finally realized how taller he is from her, a head taller. He's shivering, he looked cold but he didn't walk back under the bus stop. Instead, he was standing here, in the middle of the road, shivering, yet still with her. There was something about that little action that put a smile on her lips. But then, her chest tightened and she felt like crying.

"Ichinose," she called. The boy turned towards her.

"I'm afraid," she finally confessed.

The boy didn't answer but his eyes never left her.

"This is my final year," she began. "And this year has been a very wonderful year. Our band is doing great, we've performed in many more places and we've got a name for ourselves. We still do crazy stuff but above all, we did our best."

She took a breath, "I don't want it to end."

She felt like crying but she was smiling. "We went through so much, buying Yui's guitar, accepting Azusa's applications, playing everywhere, getting fanmails and all those useless, insignificant but very, very wonderful things."

By then, she couldn't hide her tears.

"My friends changed. Not in a bad way but they've changed and I felt proud but part of me felt like they're slowly leaving. Even Ritsu." She paused again.

"Ichinose," she called him, her voice shaking. "Am I being paranoid?"

The boy didn't answer. He approached her, raises his hand and gently chopped her head. It did not hurt.

"This rain is making you dumb." He said.

He then took her hand gently and led her toward the bus stop.

The rain calmed after a few minutes. During that time, she never spoke a word. As she bid him goodbye, he offered to take her home. She just declined him and just walked.

"Akiyama!" he suddenly shouted. "Nothing last forever!"

The girl just laughed, "Ichinose, that's plain dumb!"

"I know!" he confessed. "I was about to say something cooler but it got away from me!"

He was trying to say something cooler. But, isn't the fact that they were crazily screaming at each other in the middle of the street is embarrassing? She didn't really ponder about it.

"Ichinose," she shouted, "You think too much!"

"I know!" he said. "Now be gone!"

She arrived home half an hour later. She quickly took her bath, changed into her night clothes, went to her table and took out her blue notebook. There are many thoughts in her mind now, too many words left unsaid. As she took up her pen, she began writing. She writes about rain, she writes about bus stops, she writes about all her words she didn't say, she writes about distances and in the end she wrote about how even after she took her bath and changed, she still felt the warmth of his fingers on her hand as he led her through the rain.

The next day, it was a few minutes after ten when suddenly Ritsu's phone rang. She answered the call calmly but after hearing the other side, she started screaming. As the call ended, she called the rest of the band. It took them about fifteen minutes to finally reach Mio's house.

As she open the door to Mio's room, she saw the raven haired girl under her blanket, her face red and a wet towel against her forehead.

"Hi," she greeted them with her sore throat.

The rest of the twenty minutes were filled with Ritsu's screaming voice.

Ritsu was complaining, whining about how she could catch a cold and how it should've been her instead and how Mio could have been so careless. Mugi just smiled as she took the wet towel carefully and gently wipe Mio's hot face.

"Honestly, Mio how could you catch a cold?" Ritsu was practically screaming but that could not hide the worry in her tone.

It was then when Yui suddenly raised her hand.

"I shall make Mio-chan a remedial chicken soup," she said with a serious face as she stood up and exit the room. The four of them were silent for a while until Azusa head towards the door.

"I'll help Yui-senpai," she said, her tone, nervous. Ritsu thought that's good. They did not want whatever non-chicken soup to enter Mio's system.

As the girl closed the door, Ritsu let out a heavy sigh. "Seriously, what in the name of everything sane drives you to just play in the rain?"

Mio pulled the cover above her cheeks, embarrassed. "I-uh. I'm sorry."

With that, Ritsu just sighed. Mugi placed the wet towel on her face and smiled, "Mio-chan, you should take a nap."

Mio return the gesture. As Ritsu went into another bout of her whining, Mugi gently wipe her head, a warm feeling swell in her chest.

"I could go on about how much of an idiot you are but now," Ritsu sat on the floor beside her bed, "Sleep."

Mio just nodded. Mugi then took the towel and the water basin and head outside. As Ritsu watched the door closed, she heard Mio silent breathing. It didn't take her that long to finally fall asleep. Ritsu let out a sigh. She considered taking a nap too until she heard a phone's tone. It wasn't hers.

As she picks Mio phone up from her side table, read through the receiving message, it took her quite a while to realize what has happened and then a small laugh broke out. Mugi came in a few minutes later and saw Ric-chan laughing.

"What is it, Ric-chan?" Her tone may be gentle but could not quite hide the curiosity from it.

Ritsu just shook her head. "Our Mio-chan has grown up." She said.

Mugi was confused.

The message was simple but to Ritsu, it explained a whole lot other thing. To Ritsu, that simple message of, 'Akiyama, I hope you burn in hell!' by one Ichinose Kou explained everything she ever questioned about her friend recently.

* * *

Author's Note: Actually, this story was never meant to be a continual but, from recent updates, I guess why not. Sorry for those who waited for it and sorry again if it does not reach your expectation. Thank you for reading it and take care.


	3. Chapter 3

Chances

_Standard Disclaimer Applies_

In the brief moments of him making the acquaintance of Mio Akiyama, there are a number of things he learned. The most obvious of it was that Akiyama is a left hander. She wrote with her left hand, point with her left hand and done almost everything with her left hand and when a trail of her long hair fell over her eyes, she used her left hand to comb it away. It was during this moment when she usually noticed him looking at her and most of the time it will end up with her telling him to sod off because when she writes, she rarely let anything bother her at all and it's kinda funny.

Mio Akiyama loves sweet things but she doesn't eat it all the time. She always made sure that her tea was sweet enough, that a toffee will always be available close to her and that to have a strawberry cheesecake during tea time. There are a whole lot of things that he can quite tell about Mio Akiyama but most of all, during all his moments with her, they argue quite a lot. Not over large things mind you, rather for the petty things like which is the better tea, why doesn't it rain more often and when's the bolognaise coming.

So when she suddenly asked, "How would you describe your music?" there's this tiny part of him that knows this won't end well. But him being him and him being not that smart, all he could utter was. "Excuse me?"

"How would you describe your music?" There's this subtle look in her eyes that she's honestly curious and that made him a bit nervous. To be honest, the question surprised him. Not for the fact that she was asking it, rather it was solely on the fact that he never really thought about it.

"How would _you_ describe _your_ music?"

Mio Akiyama scrunched up her nose, "That's a cheap trick, I asked first!"

"Hey, it's fair. So, what's your music, Akiyama?"

He loved calling her Akiyama. It may not make any perfect sense; it's just that whenever he called her by that, she would have this sort of riled up expression. It's kinda cute.

She didn't answer directly. Rather, she took a careful sip of her milk tea, put the cup back on the counter, fiddled with the side of her hair and turned to him.

"As embarrassing as it may be, I think its pop rock."

He let out a small laugh, "It's not embarrassing. It means that you're confident in your music and you really know what you're doing."

As usual, she let out that one expression that says, 'Yeah, right.'

"So, Ichinose, what's yours?"

"Hey, you know there's a ne-"

"Hey!"

"What, I don't have to answer it!"

"I answered. You're not getting out of this!"

"Akiyama…"

"Ichinose…"

"Guys," there's a third voice interrupting. Percy stood in front of them with a jar of glassed water.

"Pipe down," he says with a quiet voice but he could not let go the authority in his words. His hand went up in apology and Akiyama just bowed down, her cheeks red. By then, she turned to him, her face annoyed.

"This is all your fault," she said.

"What you mean mine, you're the one who come up with that silly question."

"It's a viable one and you don't have the decency to answer it."

"What you mean decency, I have decency right here!" He put his hand above his head.

"The only decency you have is that you come here clothed!"

"What, you want me to come here butt naked?"

There's a look of disbelief in her face.

"I cannot believe you just said that!"

"What, 'butt naked'? I can say that whole day. Butt naked, butt naked, but NAKED!"

"Ichinose!"

" !"

It was then drops of cold ice water splashed down his head, wetting him whole. He turned around; Percy stood there, his jar empty.

"Dude, get out." He simply said.

"How come I'm the only one getting wet?"

"Mio, take him out before he starts making a jackass of himself."

The girl just complied.

"Dude,"

"Out, now!"

* * *

"I can't believe he just did that!"

"Well, you're being loud. It's disturbing the customers."

"Well, you're too."

"Just change." She said as she pushed him into his toilet and closed the door. He just laughed.

Five minutes later, he came out, freshly changed and he saw her checking the cd's scattered everywhere on his hi-fi.

"Hey," she greeted him.

He really didn't know what to say. Now that he thinks of it, this is actually the first time any girl has ever entered his room. He never really invited any girl in before, not even Tsukiko. This is mighty awkward.

"Engelbert Humperdinck?" She showed a CD to him.

"Well, I love The Last Waltz."

She just smiled and proceeds to check his music 'collection', if he can even call it that. Thing is, his CD made an awesome mess all over his room, from the top of his speaker, to the computer and some by his cupboard. He's one of the people who liked his mess where it is.

She paced around her room, looking at his cd's his, comic books, his real books. She stopped for a while and picked a copy of his Haruki Murakami, stare at it for a while and just put it there again. There was this smile she made as she checked more of his collection and picked up his Chihiro Onitsuka CD.

"Akiyama, you're really enjoying this."

"Well, kinda." There's a pretty pink on her as she smiled at him and he just had to laugh.

"So, what's your sudden fascination with my musical sense, how limited it may be all about?"

She looked at him, "Nothing. Just, wondering something a lot is all."

"Wondering?"

"No, it's just that, I'm thinking of what other kind of music I should write you know?"

"Ohhhhh." He said that but he doesn't really get it.

"You listen to a lot of music don't you?"

He rubbed the back of his head, "Not really. I'm still new to this music thing."

"Really?"

"Yeah, heck two years ago I listened only to like Marvin Gaye, Ray Charles, Humperdinck, Garfunkel, BB King, and all these other oldies kind of music, Frank Sinatra especially. In fact, the first contemporary band I ever listened to was 'Athlete'."

Akiyama just smiled at him. That alone did funny stuff to his stomach.

"Hey, wanna check out that new CD store?"

She just shrugged, "Sure."

* * *

"What do you mean 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love' is sung by Queen? Heck, I have their greatest hit and the song is not in it!"

"Ichinose, 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love' is Queen's, that's like general knowledge!"

"No way, I swear Elvis sung that song."

"No way, where did you get that idea, it's clearly Queen!"

But the boy was relentless. Not wanting to lose, he approached a guy and boldly asked him.

"Sir, 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love' is Elvis's, right?"

The man looked at him as if he was mad, "Bro, that's Queen's. It's like general knowledge."

Akiyama just smirked.

"Oh, eat your heart out, Akiyama."

* * *

"So, how did you exactly start your band?"

She suddenly asked him as he finished purchasing their ice-cream.

"You're really full of question today, aren't you?" He gave her the strawberry Ice-cream.

"It's only fair. You know about mine, so I want to know about yours."

He just shrugged. They continued their walk. The evening by the pier was breathtaking. It was a favorite recreational spot. All across the park and beyond, people from all around with different racial background, ages and name gathered. Some play, some jog, some walk while some just contend being there as the both of them walk, under the ray of the evening orange light, he started to seriously wonder about her question.

"You remembered when I said my first band was Athlete?"

She doesn't need to remember. "What about it?"

"Tsukiko gave me the CD. Said something about wanting me to broaden my musical taste. So, she gave the CD for my birthday."

Akiyama just listened.

"I listened to it for three days and I loved it. Used to bring the CD everywhere, listening whenever possible. It was around that time when I met Akira."

"Akira Fujii?"

"Yeah, he used to wear all black. Used to be shorter then. Quite cute too." He said, raising his head up to his chest, trying to justify his friend's height which in turn, made him feel like an idiot.

"Don't tell him that. Anyway, he was a year younger but he played good guitar. Saw him while he was tuning his guitar by the train station. He played a line from 'Tourist' and I just sang. Come to think of it, that was our first street live. It didn't garner any crowd but we just clicked.

"We hung out for months when Riku just pulled me by my collar and forced me to rehearse with his band."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I pulled Akira with me and that's how we started our band."

"That's quite a story."

"Nah, wasn't as epic as your 'trying to save a club by recruiting new member'."

She punched his shoulder lightly and they just laughed and under the bright orange sky, he thought she looked beautiful laughing.

"You're quite weird," she said.

"Yeah, tell me about it."

"No- I, sorry didn't mean it like that." She waved her hand around, it looked funny and cute.

"Must you be so embarrassed in everything you do, Akiyama?" he laughed.

The girl frowned, "Point is, I don't mean it like that, okay?" She finally said with certainty.

He then just listened.

"Ichinose, there are times when you suddenly jumped and do stupid stuff, but don't get me wrong, it's just one of those wonderful stupid stuff." She took a deep breath and continued.

"But then, there are times when you're just being quiet for a while and didn't talk much. You laugh then but you rarely spoke at all. At first it made me quite nervous but then, I guess I got used by it. But, you love hearing people talk and I found myself talking to you more and I kinda enjoy it." There's a pretty red adorned her pale face and her fingers were fidgety and she looked anywhere but him.

"Akiyama," he said, "Is this a love confession?"

His answer was a swift jab on his gut.

"God, damn it, WHAT THE HELL?"

"Now, this is you being stupid." She said calmly.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN BEING STUPID, OFF COURSE I'M BEING STUPID, YOU JUST PUNCHED ME!"

The girl just smiled before finally saying, "Point is Ichinose, you can count on me. If you ever feel like talking, just call. We're friends, right?"

Her smile was bright and her eyes were clear. That level of honesty just took his breath away and he finds out that he's the one blushing now and turned away.

"See," she said, poking his cheek. "Now you're all red."

"Oh, shut up. It's the heat."

The temperature was 22 degree Celsius at most. He decided then that Akiyama Mio is a dangerous woman.

* * *

In the brief moments of her making the acquaintance of Kou Ichinose, there are a number of things she learned. The most obvious one was that he had a very strong voice. Not to say that he was loud because when he talked, he never raises his voice but his voice was audible and he could clearly speak without any noise interrupting him. That strong voice may be a reason why he was the vocalist of his band and she had to agree. He really does have a good voice.

The second of which is that he, despite his cheerful demeanor and ease of talking to anyone no problem, Kou Ichinose is a very private person. He rarely speaks of himself and most of the time will only listen. When Akira came around and starting whining about 'Evil-Girl-With-Godlike-Skills', he would only listen and would only speak when he thinks it's appropriate. It made her wonder whether he himself had a lot to say because whenever he sits by himself he looks so terribly alone. But, when she asked him about it, his face will turn red and he just cried, "Go the hell away, Akiyama. I'm thinking great thoughts now so do yourself a great favor!" which will always made them argue.

There's a guilty part of her that actually loved their arguments. Mind you, she herself rarely argues with people. Just Ritsu and that's only because sometimes, Ritsu can be such a child but arguments with Kou was very much childish and most of the time, she could only laugh about it. Like that one time when they argue about who sang the best That's Amore. However, no matter how mundane, how insipid their arguments would be; part of her quite like it.

Kou Ichinose listens to all sorts of music but he's somewhat attached to jazz, blues and oldies. His favorite band was the Athlete but he had this undeniable attachment to Frank Sinatra. There were many days when he would just sit by himself, his feet shaking to a beat and just hum softly under his breath,

"_I'__ll be loving you, always,_

_W__ith a love that's true, always._

_W__hen the things you've planned, _

_N__eed a helping hand,_

_I __will understand, always,_

_A__lways..."_

He has a very nice voice; she had to admit it again. Sometimes, she would pretend writing in her book and not bothering him just to listen to him sing secretly. She knew if she were to remark something he would go on defensive again and that would always definitely end up with them having a row. But sometimes, listening to him sing can really make her write and more often than not, it would end up with him staring at her as if something unexplainable just happened and that would always made them fight.

When they fight, she could barely keep with the subject. They can start with 'Frank Sinatra is a legend!' to 'You thought Doctor Who was boring? Screw you!' within minutes and trying to trace the conversation became much harder and most of the time, both of them would just give in.

However, there's just one tiny part of her realization that she would never admit to him even if it means taking it to her grave. She somehow, liked calling him Ichinose. It's sort of a guilty fun. I-chi-no-se, it's quite a name and whenever she called him that she would always reply with a mundane, 'A-ki-ya-ma' which is quite irritating but she suppose she couldn't say anything because she's doing it too.

So, when they arrive at her doors and it was quite dark and when he said, "Night, Akiyama." She couldn't help but smile when she answered with a "Night, Ichinose."

As he swaggers towards his house, there are a lot of things she thought she could say; things she could derive. But, the talking and the thinking can wait because, in the end she knew. Once she opens the door to the café, he would always be there, drinking his iced lemon tea, singing another random Athlete song while Akira would do an awkward air guitar and both of them would wail like idiots until Percy asked them to shut up. And when he noticed her, there will be an awkward smile and he would say, "Here again, Akiyama?" and she would shook her head and just smile, "Here again, Ichinose." and the day would begin anew.

* * *

_Author's Note: Sorry for taking so long and thanks again for reading. It has been a very busy year and I am constantly everywhere so yeah. Anyway, sorry if it's not that good but I did my best anyway. Thank you and take care._


End file.
